Creating a Forbidden Word List

Problem: StreamWell Financial is a leading financial institution with a large customer base. The bank recognizes the importance of maintaining regulatory compliance, ensuring professionalism, and enhancing the overall customer experience. To achieve these goals, they decide to create and implement a forbidden word list for their customer representatives.

Success scenario: The Text Search is clicked to create a Basic Category. Here, the categories should be connected with "OR" because each of them should be considered in the given situations. For example: "mam" OR "sir" OR "hold on" OR "give me one sec*" OR "calm down" OR "lemme check". Some words have " * " at the end. The purpose of this symbol is to include other versions of the word, for example, "sec", "second", and "seconds".

After that, a New Category Group can be created by clicking Advanced Options. Instead of using "OR", the categories can be connected with "AND" to require both categories to be present in the conversation. For example, "bankrupt*" AND "go online to make a payment*".

Afterwards, the Category Group under the Advanced Options is clicked, and Basic Categories are created using the help of Text Search.

If desired, Near categories under the Text Search can also be added. These categories allow for searching the keywords of a phrase by specifying a maximum distance between those keywords.

If the ratio of the agent's block speaking time to the total call time needs to be determined, the Agent Block Ratio option under the Analysis section can be selected, and the desired percentage can be entered. Additionally, under the Emotional section, a category can be created for the Agent Tension Ratio. Lastly, these all categories can be linked with different category. To do that, Combine With Other Category option under the Advanced Options needs to be selected.

Reason of the problem: Creating a forbidden word list is crucial for customer representatives working for banks for several reasons:

• Compliance with regulations: Banks are subject to strict regulations and guidelines regarding customer interactions. Creating a forbidden word list helps ensure that customer representatives adhere to these regulations and avoid using language that may be misleading, deceptive, or inappropriate.
• Maintaining professionalism: Customer representatives are the face of the bank and play a critical role in building trust with customers. Having a forbidden word list helps maintain a professional image by preventing the use of offensive, disrespectful, or unprofessional language during customer interactions.
• Ensuring consistency: Banks often have specific language guidelines or scripts that customer representatives are expected to follow. A forbidden word list helps standardize communication across different representatives, ensuring consistency in the messaging provided to customers.
• Protecting sensitive information: Banks deal with sensitive customer information, such as account details, personal identification numbers, and financial data. A forbidden word list helps prevent the accidental disclosure of confidential information by guiding representatives to avoid certain words or phrases that may inadvertently reveal sensitive data.
• Enhancing customer experience: Effective communication is essential for a positive customer experience. By creating a forbidden word list, banks can eliminate or minimize the use of language that may confuse or frustrate customers, improving overall satisfaction and loyalty.

Result:
Implementing a forbidden word list yielded significant improvements for StreamWell Financial. Before its introduction, instances of representatives unintentionally using prohibited language occurred sporadically. However, after implementing the list, compliance adherence soared, with a notable 80% reduction in prohibited language usage. This improvement ensured a more secure and legally sound operation, minimizing the risk of regulatory penalties.

Moreover, customer representatives were empowered to maintain a consistently professional demeanor, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction scores related to professionalism and communication. The bank's reputation benefited from this enhanced professionalism, fostering stronger trust and loyalty among customers.